Defect
by Rifa
Summary: A prequel to 'Broken': A single Black Mage is found awake in Dali and is handed over to crimal merchants. Alone and confused 239 must make sense of his world, or die trying. Rated for Language.
1. Darkness and the Light

A/N: This is a back-story for a black mage from my fic 'Broken'. It doesn't contain any spoilers for it in case you haven't read 'Broken' and may want to, this story takes place before the events in 'Broken'. There will be language throughout and some occasional violence, just to warn you. And for those who have read 'Broken'… I hope you like this, I know you guys really wanted to read this pokes wonwingangel

* * *

'They'll never be good to you,  
bad to you.  
They'll never be anything,  
anything at all.'

'Mechanical Animals' by Marilyn Manson

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Chapter 1

Darkness, the mind explained. Complete darkness, there was no light. Understandable. All there was was darkness and a mind taking shape, a mind trying to understand his surroundings. The mind was capable of this, it was programmed well, but its current situation was confusing. The mind began to ache.

Until it came up with an answer, it was confined. To what? The mind was unsure, but there was no light, and movement was… not possible. What was the mind confined in? A head, a different part of the mind answered. This side was perhaps, more logical, but it wasn't developed. This part of the mind explained that, this being wasn't made up of only a mind. It had a body.

It took a few minutes, or perhaps, hours, for the whole being to come together. The body, strong and powerful, the first part of the mind, programming, and the other half, a sense of… self; it all came together. This is what made no. 239, a black mage of 'c' type, the newest and most powerful of the black mages. But this black mage was not complete yet, in terms of awareness. It had no sense of self.

But after a while of being confined to darkness, the programming spoke. 'Try moving.' It said. It wasn't pure programming anymore; it was formed in slightly with the other side of his mind. But the being thought about this for a moment, about moving. Finally, he tried to raise his arm, but it didn't move. He tried his other arm, same outcome. No. 239 felt his eyes blink in minor confusion. His programming became confused again. It claimed he should be able to move, unless he was injured or stuck. He wasn't injured, his programming accessed, he must be stuck.

No. 239 blinked again. For a long while he did nothing. Then his programming told him to move, he tried to raise his arms, but nothing happened. Soon, the other side of his mind concluded that this was a big problem, this was dangerous, this shouldn't be happening. He panicked, both sides of his mind felt fear, an uncomfortable emotion, especially for a first emotion.

This fear overtook him; he began moving his entire body in panic. His head hit the sides of… something. It hurt; the pain was strange to him. But he kept moving, more and more recklessly, pain kept coming but he wanted to get out. He wanted it… he…

"Uhhh…."

"What is it now?"

He wanted out, out of this confined space. The fear was spreading and it was hot and sickening like that of a fever…

"T-the box is moving…!"

"You're probably just imagining it! Just get it in the barrel before the Cargo Ship gets here, we're already behind by a week!"

"I'm serious! It's moving!"

The sounds outside meant nothing to no. 239's young mind, he just wanted out…

Light was hot, and blinding. It flashed hard into his soft yellow eyes as he tumbled out of the now broken box he was placed in. He fell out onto the ground, it was soft with fresh green grass, and he gazed out at the blue sky through his narrowed yellow eyes. His breath was quick from the effort made to get out; his whole body ached from the force he used to break out. Sunlight was nice, so was the big openness of this large field…

"…I-I told you."

"Uhhh…."

No. 239 let his eyes open fully; he gazed up at two, humans. Humans, they gave him orders, they are in control, you need to listen to them, his programming told him. They stared down at him, in fear and confusion at the mage lying before them.

"This isn't good…"

"Uh, what do we do with it…?"

No. 239 heard a sound, he liked the sounds, this sound was the sound of footsteps, his programming informed him. A new human came up.

"What is going on? Did you numbskulls let that mage out? Do you want to lose out deal with Alexandria! Do you understand how dangerous this is!" The voice yelled angrily. No. 239 didn't like that, it made him want to do better, to please, that's what the programming made him feel.

"N-no! The box just started shaking and it broke out! Honestly!" One human pleaded slightly.

"I don't want to hear it! I'll listen to your excuses later; we need to get it out of sight before anyone sees it! You guys get ready for the cargo ship and don't breathe one word about this! It could lose us our deal with the Queen! Now get back to work!" The angry voice went off again and once again No. 239 felt the need to do better, except the need was painful this time.

The angry human left and the two others stood there, confused. No. 239 wanted to get up. He felt the need to be standing before these humans, to take their orders. He struggled to stand on his new, weak legs. His head felt heavy and teetered a little bit but he quickly gain balance and stood at attention to the two humans who had stepped away considerably. They exchanged glances in slight confusion, neither of them had ever dealt with an active mage before and neither had the training to do so.

Finally they decided to get a new box to place him in, no. 239 didn't fully understand, he knew he was in a box, and now they were getting another one. He wondered why but his programming told him he wasn't supposed to wonder why, so he stopped. He really wanted to look around now that he was standing, but he knew better, so he stood rock still staring straight into the rather nervous-looking human. Within a moment the other human arrived, carrying a long wooden box under his arm. He propped it upright and opened the front, it was empty, what was the box for?

"Okay so, um, I guess we just tell it to get in right?" The human who had carried the box mumbled to the other human.

"Yeah," The second human replied, who turned back to no. 239. "Get in the box."

No. 239 stood for a moment looking at the box. It was the exact same as the one he got out of, it was rather small. He took a step forward, proceeding to carry out the command, but paused. He didn't like the box, it was too small for him, and it was dark and uncomfortable. He took another step towards it, the humans watching him, but he still didn't want to go in. He stopped and stared at the box, they would close him in, he would be stuck again, and he didn't want to be stuck.

"Uh, why isn't it going in?" One human asked the other. No. 239 knew he had to carry out the order and tried to take another step but he couldn't bring himself to do it, he was scarred of the box.

"I dunno," The other human replied. "Maybe he's broken, you know? From breaking out of the box?"

No. 239 stared into the box, listening. The human said he was broken, he wasn't supposed to be broken, he was supposed to go in the box. But he didn't want to go in. He took a step back in fear. One of the humans let out a annoyed sigh.

"We're in trouble…." One human complained.

"You sure as hell are!" A voice barked from behind no. 239, it was the angry human from before. No. 239 instantly turned to face him; he stood at attention again, hoping that would make the human happy with him.

"Boss!" A human exclaimed, flustering slightly. "We tried to get it in the box but it won't go in! I think it may just be a defect…"

"A defect?" The 'boss' replied, staring at no. 239. "I've heard of mages breaking before, I heard that they turn on their masters, run off, expensive wastes they are. Not supposed to break at the manufactures though, don't tell anyone about this."

The other humans nodded their agreement, looking at no. 239 in a nervous, disgusted way. The boss backed away slowly, picked up a piece of the broken wood from the box no. 239 was in and approached the mage. No. 239 stood there, looking curiously from the human to the wood in his hands. Then in a sudden flash, the human raised the wood and struck no. 239's hidden face.

* * *

No. 239 didn't know how long he was asleep for but he woke up, his face filled with pain. He groaned quietly, and tried to raise his hands to his face but they didn't come up! He panicked, finding that his hands had been bound to… something. It was too dark to see. He stopped struggling to try and see where he was. Soon, his eyes got adjusted to the blackness; he saw that he was in an enclosed space filled with piles of boxes, the same type of box he came out of.

His breath quickened, his growing fear of dark enclosed spaces had caught up with him. He attempted to stand up, but the strong rope bindings on his hands made it impossible to. He pulled at them in fear, but it didn't help his situation. He wondered how he had gotten there. He remembered the human hitting him hard, he supposed that humans did that when he didn't do what they wanted, but he didn't remember anything else. The human probably put him in the dark room and tied his hands down to the ground, why did it do that? His programming didn't have any answers, it simply told him that he should listen to them and follow their orders, maybe this is what the human wanted him to do…?

He rested his head on the wall behind him, listening to the odd puffing and mechanical sounds from outside of the room. He also heard the distant voices of humans, he struggled to hear them but he couldn't make the words out over the puffing and other weird noises. But soon some voices came nearer, he sifted slightly to try and hear them better…

"I realize that we still owe you, how much was it?"

"80,000 gill! You buffoon, can't you even keep track of that?"

"Oh my, um, yes. You see we've been working on building a –"

"I don't care what you're buildin'! I want some goddamn pay!"

"Well, we uh, don't have it right now you see… we're getting another payment from the castle –"

"For what? Sittin' on your ass?"

"Uh, it's actually top-secret but… I have something you can have for your payment!"

"Yeah? It better not be any goddamn tomatoes!"

"Uh, yes well… Let me show you this…"

A large door creaked open; the dim light poured into the small dark one no. 239 was confined to. He sifted in his place on the floor, pulling at the binding ropes helplessly. Two human stood in the doorway, a small weak one and a very large strong looking one. No. 239 tried moving further from the large human, he didn't want the human to hurt him like the last one did. But instead the human stared at him in a confused and disgusted expression.

"What in hell is that?"

"It's a black mage, Alexandria's top secret weapon. We've been making hundreds of these for her majesty. They are very powerful; they can cast more black magic then the most powerful red mages! And they follow every human's commands."

They large human snorted in disbelief, looking the cowering mage up and down with a sparkling greed in his eyes.

"And why in the hell are ya givin' me one? A top-secret weapon?"

"This one didn't make the product standards for Alexandria, but it'll be fine for you."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean!"

"Uh, I mean it'll be fine with you because, uh, it'll still take orders and work."

"So it's like a slave…"

"Yes, a doll if you will. One of these C types would probably be worth oh, 200,000 gill. But we don't have anyone to sell it to, so I'll give it to you for the rest of the payment."

The large human shoot the other a dangerous look, making the other one jump. The large one grunted slightly and turned back to no. 239 who was pulled at his bindings again, wishing to be away from the foul-smelling human. But the human grinned and laughed a strange, cruel laugh.

"I'll take it."

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Decent? I hope so, please leave a review!


	2. Masters And Programing

A/N: About time eh? Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I know I started this fic almost a year ago and haven't touched it. Between Broken and reality I hadn't the time at all. I had a really hard time planning this chapter… I think it turned out okay. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! Enjoy!

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Chapter 2

The airship rocked and shook in the windy storm outside. Thunder rumbled and voices could be heard cursing and yelling as they kept the rickety ship as steady as possible. Objects were falling and crashing as No. 239 gazed at a wall with little interest. From inside his small prison he was detached from everything outside including his masters, all that mattered was keeping himself comfortable.

He had only spent two full days with his new masters but was already feeling the strain from his sudden workload, from carrying loads of 'loot' to cooking and cleaning, he spent most of his time under watch by his masters. He was very capable of the work, both mentally and physically; it wasn't until he was shoved back into the small storage room that he felt the fatigue. The storage room had been stuffed to the ceiling with boxes and instruments; there was only enough room for him to take two steps between piles of storage. His fear of small spaces still hadn't left, but he decided to try not to let himself think about it.

Instead he would feed the opposite side of his developing mind, the side that encouraged emotion and thought. He had found a box filled with books inside the little room, he had read them all. Everything from _Maps and Geography of the Mist Continent_, _The Alexandrian Royals_, to _A Complete Guide to First Aide _and No. 239's favourite, _The Weapon Lover's Guide_. He remembered every fact, every word and phrase, his programming made it easy for him to memorize everything perfectly. But he didn't read because of his programming, he read it for himself, for that wonderful and new side of his mind.

However, things were different outside of his small prison. The humans that had ownership of him were not kind. But he couldn't bring himself to think badly of them. After all, they were his masters, his human masters, he was nothing compared to them and… there was always the chance they may hurt him like that first one did. He should be happy, no, he shouldn't be. He shouldn't feel emotions when it came to his masters and orders. But there wasn't any problem in having emotions for himself, was there?

Thunder rose again from outside. Another human swore as the airship shook again. A couple of object fell from the boxes above No. 239 who covered his head with his arms again, these events occurred quite often. When the shaking stopped, he let his arms fall to his sides and decided to pick up the fallen objects and return them to their place. He got down to his knees and kneeled over to reach a small wooden box when he could hear voices from outside the door. As he retrieved the box he listened with slight interest to the voices…

"Fucking weather. We've blown off course…"

"Don't worry 'bout it, we'll still be able to give that son of a bitch what's comin' to him."

"Heheh. I love this revenge shit! It's not often you can get back at these bastards with a fucking huge fireball right in their ugly faces…"

"Yeah, yeah, we know, you won't shut up about it."

"…Then BOOM, off goes their goddamn face!"

"Ha, ha, ha, you're too much…"

"Shut yur beaks assholes, the storm's clearin' up!"

Just the regular talk, No. 239 assessed as he got off the ground and placed the object back in its place. He never took much notice of his masters' conversations, he wasn't supposed to, all he had to worry about was following orders and keeping them happy. And they seemed very happy with him, most of the time, anyways. But he never understood their talk of 'revenge'. It was one of the few words not covered in his programming. Whenever they told him it was time to get 'revenge' they would take him to a human building and… and… missing information, memory not retrieved… what happened after?

Don't think about orders, he reminded himself. They are not to be thought about, they are only to be carried out. There is no use in trying to remember. But, what if I _want_ to remember? He thought. I want to know. But 'want' is not an emotion suitable for black mages. Emotion is not to be had at all. Cease program… trouble shoot for program error… But… Why?

No. 239 groaned and pressed his hands against his temple. His head felt like it would rip in two. A hot, sickening pain surged through his mind. His programming was trying to wipe the other side out; the other side was fighting against it. And No. 239 was just a spectator in this gruesome battle. He griped harder onto his head as the pain grew, he ceased to think for a moment as the pain took all of his focus.

The airship rattled and groaned as it landed, the storm stopped its reign over the land; all that was left of it were the dark clouds clinging to the mountains. The door swung open in front of No. 239. Two of his masters stood before him, their eyes tainted with greed, one's mouth twisted into a sick grin as the other said, "Come on, its revenge time!"

* * *

Another day has passed. It is exactly 11:48:014.

No. 239 wondered how he was able to do that.

Sunlight was streaming down onto the landing site No. 239's masters had made. There was nothing but sky, trees, mist and the occasional airship that flew by in the distance. No. 239's masters sat around in the sun outside of the airship, one was looking over a map and the rest chatted and threw back drinks. No. 239 was standing near, executing his area defense program: Investigate any changes in landscape, eliminate any dangerous life forms, walk a 6.458-yard radius around structure, repeat. His brass staff shimmered lightly in the sunlight. No. 239 liked his staff but he couldn't find it in the weapons book he had read. He decided it must have been unique. _Unique_…

"That son of a bitch owed us, what was it? 90,000 gil? And we got how much from him?"

"200,000 gil."

"Haha, talk about investment!"

"You mean 'interest' you drunk fucker."

"Hahaha, yeah that."

"I need my cut so I can this shitty dagger fixed… cheap ass crap…"

No. 239 turned his head toward his masters. He heard 'dagger'. Daggers are short knifes that had a pointed blade and are used for piercing or stabbing enemies. He read about them, they are written about in pages 398-419 in his book.

"Woah, that mage thing is staring right at me."

"Hahaha he likes you!"

"Shut up you fucking idiot…"

"Ahh, that thing is creepy… make it stop!"

"Hey you! Stop that!"

No. 239 obeyed without thought. Turning back to the unchanging landscape before him. He closes his eyes for a moment, to try and regain his composure, to abandon emotion and thought for just a while longer.

"Hey, do you think that thing could fix the dagger?"

"What?"

"It casts fire and shit, couldn't it fix the dagger?"

"You could try…"

"Hahaha… where's the rest of the booze?"

"Shut it! Hey mage!"

No. 239 turns slowly and faces his masters with eyes as empty as he can make them.

"Come ere'… can you fix weapons?"

No. 239 makes his way to his master. He could fix weapons, perhaps… It wasn't in his programming but his book had explained how weapons were fixed… Fire magic could be used… He nodded to his master in reply.

His master smiles. He made his master happy. His master pulls out a dagger from his scabbard and hands it to No. 239. It was a Zorlin Shape, a popular dagger amongst 'thieves'. It is generally priced around 6000gil but this one seemed to lack the strength and durability the weapon usually had. His master pointed him to a large rock he could use to hold the dagger against while he fixed it. Without question, the mage walked over to the rock, admiring the gleaming blade as he went.

"So, when are we going to sell that mage thing?"

"Fuck if I know, it's up to the boss right? He had to sign some shit saying he wouldn't show it to anyone until Brahne releases them or some shit like that."

"Fucking idiot. Signing shit."

"Yeah I know, but imagine how much it'll sell for."

"Hahaha. We'll be loaded."

"Damn straight. Once we get rid of a few more bastards I'd kiss that thing goodbye."

"I wouldn't, it probably bites pretty fucking hard."

The blade caught the sunlight and shone in no. 239's gloved hands. He couldn't understand why he was so intrigued by weapons…

* * *

"Get the fuck in there!" No. 239's master boomed behind him.

No. 239 winced. He didn't want to go into the storage room again but he didn't want to disobey his master either… So he kept his position, his hands gripping the door pane, pushing himself away from the tiny room. The thought of being back in the room gave him shivers, he didn't want to go in… he didn't want…

"Useless piece of shit…"

But 'want' can't collide with orders! He wasn't allowed to 'want'. He had to do as he was told. But he didn't… want… Program error. Program error. Delete corrupt program…

"The fuck is wrong with it?"

"That bastard that gave me em' said he was defective…"

He let go of the door pane and instead gripped the sides of his head. He felt the same pain as before, the one side of his mind trying to wipe out the other. He felt hot and sick. He felt himself drop to his knees, shaking. He was faint and his sight was blurry… This was worse than before…

He felt something pull him up, something that gripped his arms so tightly it brought pain. No. 239 clamped his eyes shut as he felt himself get turned around to face where his master was standing. For a moment nothing happened, the pain inside his mind did not ease. Then a sudden force struck No. 239's middle, his lungs released all its air… His head sunk as he curled, the pain from the punch and the programming was more than he could take. A curse sounded above him as his master kicked him hard in the shoulder, so hard he tumbled into the same storage room, lying helpless against his masters.

The door slammed shut. His eyes eased open, the ceiling of the storage room spun gently. He sat up, rubbing his shoulder, his other hand still clamped against his head. The pain had eased a little but it still hurt…

No. 239's glowing yellow eyes narrowed cruelly as he thought against all his programming that controlled his will: "I _hate_ my masters."

* * *

A/N: Headache… Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed that installment of Defect… Remember if anyone's reading this who hasn't read Broken, you should, really. Everything makes more sense that way. Or you could just wait for this one to be done… or whatever. I dunno. I'm rambling! Anyways, please leave a review and expect the next chapter soon, I promise it will be more exciting than this one. 


	3. Fear and Hate

A/N: Sorry its taken me a while, I guess I'm not too consistent anymore with my updating. But between school and other things (life? What is that?) I haven't had enough time to sit and write. Uggh. Anyways, this chapter actually has some progression into the story… hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 3

Bitterness was a strange thing. So was hatred. But… did No. 239 _hate_? What is the true meaning of hate? Is it too powerful a word for what he was feeling? Perhaps…

No. 239 laid awake in the early hours of the morning watching shades of orange creep from under the closed door, the events from the previous night floating without purpose through his mind. His masters had hurt him. Humans always hurt him it seemed. But they have a right to, they are his masters, he didn't obey orders… he deserved it. Or did he? Does that mean that he deserves to work for his masters? That he deserves to salve all day just to be shoved into this little room?

No. 239 shifted his sore body on the hard wooden floor; his masters should be waking up soon. And then what will happen? Will they send No. 239 to get revenge, to clean, work, carry…. Is this all No. 239's life will be? But what else would it be? Why is No. 239 disappointed…? This is all there is… isn't it?

Footsteps sound from outside the door. Please don't make me work, No. 239 thinks, I just want to open my mind, to think… But the footsteps don't approach the door. Quiet voices are heard, whispers… What is there to whisper about? More footsteps…

"Did you hear…?"

"Yeah, he just told me…"

"Soo…"

"It's good for us, more looting but…"

"Yeah, once he finds out…."

"Fuck, I'm not telling him…"

What happened? Without any restraint from his programming telling him not to think about his masters, No. 239 let his mind wander to the conversation and found himself interested. Who was 'he'? What happened?

But before he could hear any more conversation he heard a door smash open, thundering footsteps that made him leap to his feet, and shouts that could not be made out into intelligent language. Fear sweeping over, No. 239 pressed himself as far from the door as possible. The shouting continued, angry words appearing on occasion but most of the shouts were still nothing but meaningless noise.

"FUCKING.. WHERE THE FUCK IS IT!"

"Holy shit, calm the fuck down!"

"I'LL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF IT!"

"Fuck off, we need it without damage!"

"DAMAGE, FUCK NO, I'LL KILL THE BASTARD!"

The door to No. 239's prison crashes open. One of his masters pauses for a moment outside of the small room, his tall ears pinned back, a long thin tail whipping the air. He lunges at the shocked No. 239, his hands grip hard onto the front of the mage's collar, long nails ripping at his neck.

"WHAT THE FUCK! FUCKING MAGES YOU KILLED EVERYONE!"

No. 239 body stiffens in fear as he is thrown from his room into the outside, light blinding, he crashes limply into the wooden floor as his other masters jump out of the way.

"Stop it! You'll break it!"

The master dives into No. 239, landing onto his stomach. Wind knocked out of him, No. 239 becomes dizzy and faint as fists crash into his face, the shouts ringing in his ears.

"YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU'D ALL GET AWAY WITH IT DID YOU? NO ONE KILLS A BURMECIAN CHILD AND GETS A FUCKING WAY WITH IT! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU! MONSTER! DEMON! ..."

No. 239 tries to roll over, to stop the repeating pain to his face.

Attack… 

His stomach becomes sick, his face felt like it would crack. Fear clings to his body, lying limp and helpless under the wrath of his master. Again. The shouts hold no meaning to No. 239, the pain growing and growing. His hands begin to shake…

"Fuck, stop it!"

"Fucker… Fucker! Fucking DIE!"

No. 239's yellow eyes open wide as he exhales, a strong power releasing itself from inside. The hits have stopped, No. 239's body relaxes, his breathing is heavy and his vision is hazy. But slowly the world sharpens in his soft eyes, as he looks upon his master. His eyes are opened loosely with a darkness creeping in; his mouth hangs open… he is not breathing. For sprouting from his torso in various places, long clear icicles emerge from the organs and ribs, all frozen and cracked.

Dumbfounded, No. 239 gazes at the corpse and wonders what happened. He didn't remember casting magic. He didn't remember being ordered to cast magic, or to kill his master. Nor did he feel a want to do so.

A different kind of fear washes over. A small noise escapes No. 239's lips as he struggles to escape the body lying dead upon him. A deafening silence surrounds him as he crawls from his victim and collapses like a rag doll. Vision becoming hazy again, a scream is recalled far back in his memory. A human child crying and screaming, a man lying flat on the ground skin scorched and melted, No. 239 standing without thought or emotion as his masters steal and laugh, the child screaming….

"Okay, you know what? We're getting rid of that fucking thing today."

"That was self defense right? It's not gonna…"

"How the fuck should I know!"

Drawn away from his memories by the bickering, No. 239 stares at the ceiling, a lump growing in his throat as he watching dust dance in the sunlight. Without instincts or programming telling him what to do, he lies there in shock. Remembering more, more killing and screaming, all due to him. Why?

A quiet voice which is given little attention insists on programming and purposes.

But there was no purpose to this. So… there was never a purpose at all.

"Fuck, man, just get that monster back in the storage…"

"Should we sell it now?"

"No, Burmecia's closer, looting first, then getting rid of the fucking mage."

Yellow eyes shining dully, No. 239 does not reply to orders. But it is more a lack of hearing that causes this. His lips shake and his body shivers, sudden memories rushing back. His masters drag him to the room. His eyes shine in the sun, absorbing the light, just as the door is slammed shut in fear.

No. 239 groans to himself. Between the pain inflicted from his master and the sudden memories, he feels exhausted and unable to continue on. No more work, no more orders, no more killing… But that brings him to thinking. His masters ordered him to kill, which was what 'revenge' had meant. Corpses piled up in his memory, digging graves, carrying stolen loot from the dead. People collapsing under his wrath, various spells danced through his memory, all fatal in the end. The screams were echoing in his skull. Over and over in his memories, spells of fire and lighting and ice, screaming and screaming and then the fatal drop of a human body.

But then, why was it a shock when he killed his master? Why did the others recoil in fear and disgust? They who had ordered him to end the lives of so many before… why is it suddenly turned around, why a change of heart so late in the game?

The ship shakes as the engine gives out for a moment. They were flying for a while without any notice, winds and mist whipping the sides of the ship. No. 239 lying on the floor, confused and suddenly so hurt, so angry.

His stomach curls as the ship descends, the sound of rain quiet obvious from inside. No. 239 eases his eyes shut as he listens to his masters disembark, the dragging of the corpse along the wooden panels, plotting for more loot. His 'masters' were heartless. No. 239 could see that clearly now.

Everything was quiet except the repeating beats on the rain. Eyes still closed, No. 239 thinks that he may like to sleep… but neither sleep nor dreams came to him. In the darkness of his mind an image takes shape, there is little to see, this place is dark too. Puffing sounds are heard within the walls of the mind, he imagines walking towards a door… it opens and lets in light and he emerges into strange but somehow familiar settings. Mist hangs low in the air as he takes bold steps; machines work everywhere with help of this mist, a moving platform of sorts is transporting eggs of some kind. Curious, he lets his mind carry him further into the factory. Through another passage of sorts he hears the collected murmur of human voices, marking and checking long boxes. A stab from the past burns inside as the mind turns away and instead settles on a machine… from this machine comes… him? No, not him… but many of him…Black mages lifeless and limp, spat out one after another.

His eyes burn with tears as he opens them. Free from his sudden memory, his breath quickens as he rises from the ground, thoughts and questions screaming in his head. He remembers! The factory… he was taken through to receive his staff from a box… So, humans make black mages. Humans make black mages! And they make them do their work, make them kill… and then hate and fear them? What sense did this make? Why… how could this be? Was that all he was? Is this all No. 239 is meant to be? And all the others?

Fear strikes deep into No. 239. Shaking, he grabs his staff from the ground and thinks for just a moment. I need to get away, he thinks, away from all humans.

Standing before the door now, he breathes heavy. Heart pounding somewhere, he sets his eyes on the door, subconsciously developing a plan.

Mist creeping in under the door. Rain pounding outside.

In a sudden and panicked movement, No. 239 bursts from the storage room into the once empty meeting room. Without hesitation he rushes to a shelf on the opposite wall, a bag somehow finds his hands as he empties the first aide kit inside, bottles and potions clashing as they fall. He rips a map down from the wall without notice and takes what's left of the food on the table. Bag suddenly full, he throws it on his back with ease, grips the staff and rushes out of the entrance and into the rain.

* * *

Whee! He's free he's free! But I wonder if it's a good thing? Anyways, those of you how have read Broken will recognize a character coming into the next chapter! Hope you all look forward to it! Can't be sure when I'll update though… Please leave a review and I'll love you for it! 


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